Re: PC: U25B @ B&O Museum

Subject: Re: PC: U25B @ B&O Museum

From: Jereav@xxxxxxx

Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2001 10:42:14 EST

Content-disposition: Inline

The U25B in question was sent on a long term loan to a museum down south.
Unfortunately I can't locate my B&O Museum Roster, or I could relate the
exact place and date. The museum that received the U25B cosmetically restored
her. They sent the B&O Museum some photos, and she looks great. Prior to
coming to the B&O, this engine had a manifold fire which pretty much damaged
the prime mover beyond economical repair.
The U25B was donated to the Museum at a time during the early 1990s when CSXT
gave us what it wanted to. CSXT was (still is?) dominated by the Seaboard
System mentality and that's where most of it's top officials were from at
that time, so I guess a former L&N unit in Baltimore made some sense to
them...
The B&O Museum has recently removed any mention of the B&O, C&O and WM from
it's mission statement. (The mission statement also had a line about
railroads that operated in Maryland or with which the B&O, etc., operated
closely with. Well, the PC surely fits that category.) I don't know if that
means the Museum will accept, say, a Union Pacific locomotive for display. I
hope not. Perhaps two of the best railroad museums in the
country-Pennsylvania State Railroad Museum in Strasburg and the California
State Railroad Museum in Sacramento - both focus on their region and do an
excellent job. The B&O Museum will be making a mistake, I think, if it tries
to expand it's collection beyond the Middle Atlantic region. (Thanks, now let
me climb down from my soapbox!)